A five-month-old baby was the latest homicide victim over the course of a violent weekend in the Windy City, and furious Chicago residents are demanding action.
Cecilia Thomas, a young child, was shot in the head on Friday night while riding in a car with her father near Chicago’s South Shore.
According to police, Thomas was killed following what seemed to be a drive-by shooting in which an unidentified lady fired on the family’s vehicle. The infant was sent to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries later on.
A 41-year-old man who was in a different automobile was also hit in the event and sustained an eye gunshot wound. He was reported to be in stable condition.
Police don’t currently have any suspects in custody because the shooter fled the area. A $5,000 reward is being offered by community activist and mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green for information that results in the conviction of Thomas’ murderer.
At least 20 people were shot in the violent city over the weekend, and infuriated citizens are now urging lawmakers to intervene.
Chicago, which has an 18.26 murder rate per 100,000 residents, was ranked as the 28th deadliest city in America by CBS News earlier this year.
Around 6.45 pm on Friday, Thomas’ father was on his way home when gunfire went out in the 7700 block of South Shore Drive.
Thomas started weeping, and the worried father pulled over close to the intersection of 71st Street and Candon Avenue, a witness told ABC 7.
Thomas was sent to Comer Children’s Hospital when he called for assistance, where she later passed tragically. According to the medical examiner’s office, she was shot in the head and died as a result of the wound.
While medical professionals worked to save the infant’s life, at least a dozen of her family members gathered outside the hospital.
‘I hope y’all catch whoever did this,’ a woman screamed at the scene. ‘Took that d**n baby’s life.’
Crisis responder Andrew Holmes, who spoke to the baby’s mother, said she was heartbroken and ‘distraught.’
‘That’s a five-month-old baby,’ he said. ‘Nine months she carried that baby, nourished that baby. And it take a d**n fool to discharge that weapon and take baby’s life.’
He then addressed the shooter: ‘I hope you don’t have no children yourself. Because if you do, you shouldn’t sleep at night, you should just turn yourself here knowing you got to look at your child every night. And you done take this lady’s child.’
‘The baby rested right now, but ain’t gonna be no peace with that family the rest of their life.’
Jackie, a nurse working at the hospital when EMS brought Thomas in, described the scene as shocking.
‘I’ve never in my 61 years of life seen anything like this,’ she told the TV station. ‘You never know what it’s like to have a broken heart until you go through it.’
The nurse also lost two of her own children to gunfire and said a third was left paralyzed after being shot at a party.
Angry residents are demanding Chicago leadership take broad strokes to tackle the city’s soaring violent crime.
‘We’re not going to stand for this in this city,’ Holmes told FOX 32 after Thomas’ death. ‘We need this city to do what we got to do to put eyes on this young lady, on this driver until both of them have been arrested because this is disgusting, this is a disgrace, this is as low as you can get.’
Mayoral hopeful Green launched a campaign to find the shooter.
‘A 5-month-old girl was just shot in the head in Chicago. My heart breaks for this young girl & her family,’ he said in a statement. ‘I am offering a $5,000 reward NOW to someone who comes forward to give answers that can lead to an arrest & conviction! $2,500 when they are arrested, $2,500 when convicted.’
‘It’s time to get to the root of this violence so we can create a better city for our Children.’
Residents have taken to social media, condemning the situation and criticizing the Democrats in power for failing to abide by their campaign promises.
‘A 5-month-old baby gets fatally shot in the head in Chicago while sitting in a car. So much for gun control vs tough on criminals,’ one resident tweeted. ‘Chicago Democrats please step up and defend this.’
‘When do the protests over the murder of this child begin in Chicago?’ another questioned.
‘Chicago’s gun laws are among the most restrictive in the United States…..and yet….the media, the Mayor, and Dems are silent on these shootings,’ slammed another user.
Deputy Fox News Editor Will Ricciardella chimed in, saying: ‘This is absolutely maddening in itself. What’s worse is the reluctance to address this type of inhumanity and senseless death that continues to occur on a weekly basis on society’s most vulnerable and innocent.’
‘So how much longer are the Democrats going to allow this to happen??? The city of Chicago will close is this what they want??’ asked another.
The killing of Thomas has not yet been addressed publicly by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who had pledged to reduce the city’s crime rates.
Meanwhile, less than a year after Lightfoot took office in May 2019, violent crimes in Chicago are still on the rise overall, especially since before the outbreak.
According to the most recent figures from the Chicago Police Department, there have been 282 murders since the year’s beginning, up a startling 23% from 230 in 2019 – before the pandemic sparked an increase in crime to blight the city’s streets.
Since the apex of the pandemic lockdown, which witnessed a still alarming 291 murders, in June 2020, killings have also increased.
With 2,553 aggravated battery cases already registered this year, violent assaults are also on the rise. The city had 2,516 instances reported during June 2021.
This year has seen a decrease in sexual assaults and rapes, with the city reporting nine fewer incidents than at the same period in 2021.
Small crimes like theft have increased dramatically since last year, jumping from 4,712 instances to 7,770, a stunning 65 percent increase.
Meanwhile, the number of shootings has decreased somewhat from 1,381 last year to 1,148 so far in 2022, making gun violence undoubtedly the city’s most urgent and pervasive concern.
However, the rate of gun violence has skyrocketed, up a worrying 44%, when compared to shootings observed in 2019, before the city’s extraordinary crime wave.